1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to boarding ladders in general, and more specifically to ladders suitable for boarding the bow end of a boat which has been beached bow first and wherein such ladder can be folded to a size convenient for compact storage.
2. Description of Prior Art
There are numerous folding ladders shown in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,912 shows a folding ladder wherein the rungs are pivoted at their ends to the sides of the ladder so that the ladder can be collapsed endwise. This construction provides for a ladder which can be condensed laterally, but in so doing, the length of the ladder is increased. Such is also the case with the ladder of U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,829, wherein in FIG. 1, it is seen that the length thereof is increased when it is "folded". This is also the case with U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,232,221, 2,875,935, 3,498,410, 3,722,622 and Design U.S. Pat. No. 258,148. U.S. Pat. No. 341,284 shows a ladder which folds laterally about the pivots of the steps to the side rails and which side rails also pivot to provide the compact structure of FIG. V. However, since the wide side rails A and A' rest upon each other when the device is folded so that the width of the ladder effectively becomes double its unfolded width when extended, this folded configuration is not fully desirable. This is also the case with ladders of U.S. Pat. Nos. 732,295 and 1,314,201.